FALLS HIGH INK
Weekly Newsletter
ELKS Student of the Month
Upcoming School Activities:
December 2nd: Elementary school concerts
December 3rd: Frostbitten Formal grades 7-10
December 8th: 6th and 7th grade concert @9:30 5th and 6th 1:30
14 of December: FHS parent teacher conferences @5-8pm
High School Winter Concerts @1:15 pm in FHS gym
Winter Break: NO SCHOOL December 23 - January 2nd
December Sports Calendar:
Tuesday, December 6: Boys Hockey HOME vs. Rock Ridge JV 5:30pm Varsity 7:30pm
Girls Basketball HOME vs. Chisholm JV: 5:30pm Varsity 7:15pm
Boys Basketball @ Chisholm JV 5:30 Varsity 7:15
Thursday, December 8: Girls Hockey HOME vs. Fort Frances 7pm
Boys Basketball HOME vs. Ely 7:15 pm
Friday, December 9: Girls Basketball HOME vs. Ely JV 5:30 Varsity 7pm
Saturday, December 10: Girls Hockey HOME vs. Crookston 3pm
Tuesday, December 13: Boys Swimming & Diving HOME vs. Mesabi East 4:30pm
Girls Hockey @ Rock Ridge 7pm
Boys Hockey @ Ely 7pm
Girls Basketball @ Northland High School JV 5:45pm Varsity 7:15pm
Thursday, December 15: Boys Basketball HOME vs. Lake of the Woods JV 5:30 Varsity 7:15pm
Friday, December 16: Boys Basketball HOME vs. Rock Ridge JV 5:45 Varsity 7:15
Girls Basketball @ Rock Ridge JV 5:45 Varsity 7:15
Boys Hockey @ Fort Frances 7:15pm
Saturday, December 17: Boys Hockey HOME vs. Kittson 2pm
Boys Swimming & Diving HOME Invitational Diving 12pm Swimming 3pm
Tuesday, December 20: Boys Swimming & Diving @ Chisholm 4:30pm
Boys Hockey HOME vs. Ely 7pm
Girls Basketball HOME vs. Deer River JV 5:45 Varsity 7:15pm
Boys Basketball @ Bigfork JV 5:30pm Varsity 7:15pm
Thursday, December 22: Girls Basketball HOME vs. Bigfork JV 5:45pm Varsity 7:15pm
Boys Basketball @ Mesabi East JV 5:45pm Varsity 7:15 pm
Tuesday, December 27: Boys Basketball Tournament @ Chisholm TBD
Girls Basketball HOME vs. LBF JV 5:45pm Varsity 7:15pm
Wednesday, December 28: Boys Basketball Tournament @ Chisholm TBD
Boys Hockey @ Warroad Tournament vs. Orono 7:30pm
Thursday, December 29: Boys Hockey @ Warroad Tournament vs. Providence Academy 5pm
Friday, December 30: Boys Hockey @ Warroad Tournament vs. Warroad 1:30pm
SCHOOL NEWS
Changes to the Rec Department
Alaina Gates, Emma Saxton, Landan Snyder, Ellen Windels
Sports are an important part of students' school experience, from the youngest elementary grades all the way up to high school varsity. Currently, the high school organizes all junior varsity and varsity sports while the Recreation Commission facilitates all elementary and junior high activities. The Recreation Commission is a joint effort between the city and school and is made up of three school board members, three city councilors, and three at-large representatives. Mr. Mason is the Rec Director who is also contracted by the high school to schedule the events for the higher grades but he is planning to retire at the end of this school year. This has opened up the opportunity to explore new options for the facilitation of sports in our school system.
There have been no major issues with the current Rec Commission, however, it is an uncommon set-up, as most other schools in our region organize the sports for all levels. The potential options would be the City taking over all elementary and junior high, the school taking over all elementary and junior high or simply just leaving the system as is. Regardless of what decision is made, a full-time person to replace Mr.Mason will need to be hired to fill his role in whatever form it is in. The ultimate goal is to keep all programs at a top-notch level while working through the changes in the district due to a shrinking student population. Any change in organizational structure should not affect how current elementary and junior high sports operate.
The Rec department also deals with things like lifeguards at City Beach, Eighth Street Rink, and the upkeep of Kerry Park, which the school would not be concerned with if they assumed the board’s role and new arrangements would need to be made to maintain them. The school would also need to examine payment for coaches, as the current budget does not allow all elementary/junior high coaches to receive the same pay as varsity coaches. A decision on the future of the Rec Commission and elementary and junior high sports will be decided this winter and implemented next school year.
“As we are moving forward, now seems like the time with someone retiring to look at and say maybe there is a different way to do this” Kevin Grover, ISD361 Superintendent
Interview with Officer Balejo By: Emma Saxton
How long have you been a police officer?
Approximately a year and nine months.
Why did you become a police officer?
It gives me the opportunity to use my interests and hobbies in my work. It allows me to help the people who need help and gives me a sense of purpose. It is a very fulfilling job. It turns out I really enjoy and really like doing what I do.
How do you feel you are important to keeping the school safe?
I am just a part of keeping the school safe. Other than being in the school with a gun and being able to respond to situations quickly, I think I offer a lot of advice to staff on how they could improve security. When an event does occur we debrief afterwards so we can talk about how we can stop it from happening in the future and improve upon security if it does happen. We also talk about how to have a more efficient response. I am at the school in case something does happen and can respond immediately. Luckily we haven't had anything to serious happen, but we have had a few medicals I was able to quickly respond to. They did turn out to be minor.
What is your role within the school?
Besides a security role I can answer to medicals that also occur, but I am also able to speak to students in a more professional role as an officer. If the school catches students they shouldn't be, such as tobacco, alcohol or fights within the school, the school will take care of punishments, but I will sit down with the students to talk about what they did, why they did it, and how their actions could affect the people involved. I will talk about how, for tobacco and alcohol, it could affect them and their brain chemistry at such a young age. I also talk to them about legal consequences. In addition to this I take over all of the police work related to the school. I have a few cases open about destruction of property and threats, but I’ll take any of the cases that a school needs an officer for.
Is the school planning to implement any new safety measures/ has the school implemented any new safety measures?
I would say that since the lockdown occurred we have had three brainstorming sessions and have made a couple of changes to policy. I am not sure if they have all been implemented yet or if they are still consulting with a third party organization.
How does your job in the school differ from your job as a patrol officer?
The duties between the two differ in some ways. When you're working patrol you deal with the public on a larger scale. When I work with the school I am dealing with the faculty members and the students, and it's more about building the trust with students and showing that officers, not just me but in general, are here to help. I am trying to show that they can come to us when they need help and am trying to humanize officers as a whole.
On patrol duties are a little different. When someone calls the non-emergency line and asks to speak to an officer they are the ones you talk to, and if someone calls 911 they typically respond to the scene immediately. If a non emergency call a response is given in the order they are received and based on severity. Patrol officers also do traffic stops. They do pretty much anything you can think of, whereas I am a little more focused on the school here and a little bitmore community oriented. I focus on building relationships with students, and answering any calls related to the school. I have a couple presentations I am working on for the future. I do take on some roles outside of the school because our department is fairly small. I do compliance checks to ensure places aren’t selling alcohol to minors, and I am signed up for an active shooter response training so I can teach others how to respond and am providing the training for our two agencies. I have taken on the juvenile diversion officer, which allows a juvenile under the age of 18 to have the opportunity to divert that ticket by doing community service through the county. In conclusion patrol officers deal with a larger variety of calls and people whereas I am a little bit more community oriented and respond and focus on the school
What’s the most intense situation you have been a part of as an officer?
At my last agency I responded to a shots fired call that was pretty intense and enjoyable because I got to do a lot of things I enjoy doing. I got to drive fast, search for a suspect, quarantine off an area, watch a K-9 officer search for a suspect, and process evidence. It was intense because we got a call around 4 a.m. letting us know that they had been shot at in a road rage incident and that the vehicle had rammed them. It was very intense.
Other instances include medicals I have gone to where I have needed to perform CPR before the ambulance got there and took over. I would say these are very important calls, but are not necessarily the most adrenaline pumping. The call here at the school wasn’t necessarily the most intense. I was here at the school and what dispatch was telling me on the phone was not what I was observing. I very quickly responded to the room and verified there wasn’t a shooter. While I was doing that, it took about a minute, the students I saw were acting normal. Nobody was running or screaming and to me that showed me there most likely wasn’t an issue, but I still needed to treat it like there was. I checked and came out to an empty bathroom. For the rest of the response we cleared the school and evacuated everybody.
I have responded to a call about a guy who had burglarized a house and was possibly still there. We responded to it with weapons drawn, and had to go searching for him. We eventually found him. I don’t think I’ve done anything crazy in this area. I don’t think I have had the most intense career yet. I had some fun moments when I was working for the Chisago county sheriff's office. They had a couple K-9 officers and while I was down there I got to train with them a couple of times. I would put on a bite suit and the dog would go at it. I really like dogs, K-9s, and the work that they do, so being able to see it first-hand and be on the receiving end of it was really fascinating. I got into a lot of pursuits and got to drive very fast. I once responded to a heart attack call where I had to drive for 20 minutes at 120mph, and when I got there the ambulance was already about to leave. On the way back I had to drive at 60mph and the distance that originally took 20 minutes took 40 minutes. It seemed very intense on the way down but on the way back it was very slow and was a crazy contrast. I haven’t done anything crazy intense that I wasn’t able to handle with too much stress or ease. I can’t think of a stress that was extremely hard for me to handle because of the amount of stress I was under.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free-time I like to play videogames. I workout and I have been practicing Jiu Jitsu at work with friends. Not punching and kicking, but wrestling type fighting. I like to hike and camp. I like to shoot, and it goes with the work I do. I go to the range and shoot a lot of different scenarios and targets. I like to practice my ability to move, aim, and shoot quickly. I enjoy snowshoeing and am hoping to get into cross country skiing this winter. I haven’t been able to cycle for a while, but I enjoy riding my motorcycle. I have a very wide variety of hobbies that I do a little bit of whenever I can.
What is your favorite part about working with the students at FHS?
It’s the relationship I build with the kids. It’s happening slowly, but every week another kid approaches me with a question. It’s very rewarding to work with kids, and building those relationships is also rewarding. I remember when I was in high school before I wanted to be a cop I would play Call of Duty with my school resource officer. It’s cool to be able to interact with the kids like that, and you can really make a positive change in their lives.
Faculty Birthdays
Mr. Hemstad- December 8
Ms. Sullivan- December 14
Mr. Mathews- December 26
Mr. Holt- December 28
ATTENDANCE MATTERS- ISD 361 Home Interventionist Molly Sheasby
Nationally, nearly 8 million students miss almost a month of school in excused and unexcused absences every year. By middle school, chronic absence (18 missed days of the school year) is a warning sign that students will drop out of high school. Missing just two days a month can put students at risk of academic failure.
When we reduce chronic absence we improve graduation rates and increase academic achievement. Reducing this takes commitment, collaboration, and tailored approaches. Research shows that chronic absence can be addressed when school districts, communities, and policymakers work together to monitor the problem and target the underlying causes.
What steps can parents take to help?
Make school attendance a priority
Help child maintain daily routines
Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day
Help your student stay engaged
Find out if your students feel safe from bullies and other threats
Make sure your student isn’t missing class because of behavioral or discipline issues, if so contact the school and work to find a solution
Communicate with the school
Know the school’s attendance policy
Seek help from school staff, other parents, or community agencies if you need support
Keep an eye out for school-wide attendance incentives coming soon!!
Will you help become the solution??